On June 28, 1980 Tarik Toukan was
born to Abdullah and Ginny Toukan in Amman, Jordan. He was the light of our
lives…. and our first born child.
Tarik was such an easy going and happy child and loved anything beautiful. He
took notice of everything….flowers….music…..nature…and even saw the details
everything he touched. I remember when he was only 3 years old he was holding a
leaf and asked me what the fine veins were within the leaf. He savored
everything around him like a gift.

Three years later we were blessed with another boy called Ali. Tarik loved his
brother the moment we brought him home. In fact he would sneak into the nursery
and carry his brother out of the crib so he could gently play with him. Their
friendship continued throughout his life…and they considered each other best
friends.

While in Jordan Tarik attended the Amman Baccalaureate Schools and the American
Community School. He was quick to make many friendships that lasted throughout
his life. While in Jordan he played little league baseball and football, and
enjoyed horseback riding.

He briefly attended the Barnstable schools in Hyannis Massachusetts and was a
boy scout and had a paper route for the Cape Cod Times. Then he moved on to
boarding school at Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts and graduated in 1998.
During his years at Tabor Tarik played lacrosse and enjoyed the many art courses
that Tabor offered. He also participated in the production of “The Pajama Game”
his freshman year at Tabor. During Tarik’s junior year he sailed on the “Tabor
Boy” (the school’s 92-foot schooner SSV Tabor Boy) from Maine to St. Thomas.
Tarik also was an avid snow skier, water skier and certified scuba diver.
Some of Tarik’s fondest memories are of Tabor and the students he met from
across the globe.

Tarik then went on to college and attended Rice University and studied
economics. During his stay at Rice Tarik became very interested in wellness,
especially nutrition and natural medicine. This interest eventually became his
passion. He graduated from Rice University December 2003 and passed away March
2004 (3 months later). His diploma arrived in April 2004 and Tarik never got the
chance to see it. Tarik’s plans were to return to school to pursue higher
education in wellness and in particular…finding the natural cure for cancer.

We want Tarik’s legacy to continue and we have set up the Tarik Toukan Memorial
Scholarship Fund so that students can follow their dreams and make a difference
in the world of today.

How can one describe Tarik? He was the type of person that would give you
anything he owned if you liked it. From grade school to college…. he would give
away toys…half his clothing (which he gave to friends)…. shavers…..
money….CD’s….books…. watches….jewelry and even his computer. When we would get
upset…he would give us his big beautiful smile and had the same smile in his
large dark brown eyes. I have not met many people that can smile with their
eyes… Tarik was able to do this.

None of us will forget this tall, slender young man. Who had the most genuine
smile and big dark brown eyes full of compassion. He was laid back and gentle….
always there to listen if you needed to talk. We smile as we remember his
wrinkled pants….and ripped t-shirts and the red baseball cap. This was our
Tarik….

In the end…it doesn’t matter how many degrees you have….what car you drive… or
how much money you have. All that matters is how many hearts you have touched in
your lifetime. I am proud to say Tarik touched many hearts and was able to
accomplish this in his short lifetime….. we were blessed to have had him in our
lives.

“There are two ways of spreading light….to be the candle or the mirror that
reflects it”.